Sale/Bargain Pipes

[lgoldberg]

I often see these pipes going for 80 - 120 on pipesandcigars.com, and get awfully tempted to try one. I feel like buying a pipe online may be a bit like buying shoes, if you've never seen them in person.

Anyone have any opinions on these:

Baraccini
Crown
Stanwell
Viking
Big Ben

Only interested in briars, not meers.

 

[ftrplt]

I own none of them! That said, several of my pipe-smoking pals swear by the earlier Danish-made Stanwells. No one I know smokes one of the other four!! Not much help...FWIW!! FTRPLT

 

[Zeno Marx]

I own two Stanwells. One is from maybe the 90s, and the other is from 2004, if I can trust the box that came with it. They're both wonderful smokers. One of them takes just a tiny bit of finagling to run a pipe cleaner, but I'm talking about a spin back and forth a couple times until it finds airway again. It's a reliable smoker too, even with some funny business in the fluid dynamics. I'd buy another or two.

 

[JimInks]

I often see these pipes going for 80 - 120 on pipesandcigars.com, and get awfully tempted to try one. I feel like buying a pipe online may be a bit like buying shoes, if you've never seen them in person.

Anyone have any opinions on these:

Baraccini
Crown
Stanwell
Viking
Big Ben

Only interested in briars, not meers.

Four of the five brands are lower grade "make 'em and push'em out the door to make a buck" pipes. Stanwell these days have a lower standard than they did when made in Denmark. The opinions on Stanwells made in the last few years on the internet are very mixed. I'd hold out for higher quality.

 

[Ranger107]

Look for vintage Stanwells on Ebay. I have 6 and they all smoke great.

 

[Charley Scanlan]

I agree with @JimInks, I own one pipe from three of those brands and they haven't been great. I do like going through that catalogue, their Savinellis are fun pipes. I never told anybody this, but they sent me mine instead of a Peterson I ordered, and it cost more than the Peterson so I just kept the Savinelli. Smoked it today.

 

[JimInks]

Look for vintage Stanwells on Ebay. I have 6 and they all smoke great.

Vintage Stanwells are definitely worth seeking out.

 

[lgoldberg]

Vintage Stanwells are definitely worth seeking out.

What year is considered the threshold?

 

[lgoldberg]

Or maybe it's just "look for made in Denmark," not Italy?

I saw one that said "Denmark design." Sounds like deception to me, lol.

 

[Niblick]

Can't speak for the newer Stanwell's but the older ones I have and had are great smokers along with the seconds available off of ebay. For seconds look for the Royal Danish, Danish Sovereign, older Royal Guards and Christians.

 

[gkhanna74]

I own over 20 stanwells that i bought in the past ten years. Love all of them. They smoke as well (to me anyway) as some of my more expensive pipes. Great value in my opinion

 

[JimInks]

Or maybe it's just "look for made in Denmark," not Italy?

I saw one that said "Denmark design." Sounds like deception to me, lol.

"Made in Denmark" is very good. Stanwell went to Italian production in 2010. A Stanwell with a reg. number is even better because that means Sixteen Ivarsson designed the pipe. I know a couple of people who collect those, and the pre-Ivarsson Stanwells (which don't have a reg. number), and they love them. I have seven Stanwells, and three Stanwell seconds. All of them are great smokers.

Check this out: Stanwell - Pipedia

 

[Zeno Marx]

Or maybe it's just "look for made in Denmark," not Italy?

I saw one that said "Denmark design." Sounds like deception to me, lol.

correct on both accounts. made in denmark is what you want.

 

[thedeep]

Back when I was still smoking Euro pipes I had several great Stanwells.

 

[lgoldberg]

Thanks for the good info. I've only been smoking pipes for 6 months, but I feel like I've learned a lot here, and in the #YTPC.
I have had 4 briars: two "starter kit" pipes, one estate Medico, and an estate Mastersen. The Mastersen and the Medico are "okay", but the starters are trash. I've had good moments with all of them but nothing consistent.
My absolute favorite pipes are my cobs. Smoking a MM Cobbit right now, with some Autumn Evening. I also have a Country Gentleman, a Night Rider, and a smaller one I can't remember what it's called.
I'm hoping if I move up to a more quality briar, I'll have a more consistent smoke out of it. Just kind of scared to drop 100+ and have it be meh. So the recommendations mean a lot to me.

 

[Swede]

I think you are wise to hold back on dropping a lot of money on what may turn out to be average or below. I like cobs too, but am accumulating briars also. Maybe try more estates, and you might get interested in learning more about the old brands. That's fascinating in itself to me. Reading some old forum posts, I learned someone with a lot of experience recommended Edward's Algerian briar as a good deal in estates. I've been buying these and other Algerian briars since. They are pretty good to me. Also, check out Marty Pulvers Prior Briar and Dave Neebs sites. They sell estates and give their assessment of what they offer, sometimes with a good bit of humor. I've bought from both, and been happy with the pipes. You'd be surprised at the low cost comparatively.

 

[Ranger107]

Thanks for the good info. I've only been smoking pipes for 6 months, but I feel like I've learned a lot here, and in the #YTPC.
I have had 4 briars: two "starter kit" pipes, one estate Medico, and an estate Mastersen. The Mastersen and the Medico are "okay", but the starters are trash. I've had good moments with all of them but nothing consistent.
My absolute favorite pipes are my cobs. Smoking a MM Cobbit right now, with some Autumn Evening. I also have a Country Gentleman, a Night Rider, and a smaller one I can't remember what it's called.
I'm hoping if I move up to a more quality briar, I'll have a more consistent smoke out of it. Just kind of scared to drop 100+ and have it be meh. So the recommendations mean a lot to me.

Hard to beat MM cobs. I have several. My favs are the 2 Generals I dedicated to burley blends. For good briars look at Petersons. I have 6 or 7 and they all smoke well.

 

[JimPM]

I have a couple of Baraccinis, decent pipes overall. These are made by a well-known Italian house. Given the designed and nomenclature I suspect that to be Savinelli. Russ O hinted around about this matter but could not openly say who. I asked around and several agree with my theory, but it is unconfirmed. Either way they are reliable pipes, and yes factory-made, but personally I don't see that as a defect.

 

[Swede]

Another possibility is new Kaywoodies, as they are US made briars with various classic shapes and features (still have a drinkless). I've read they are good to get from WV Smokeshop and Greywoodie. Anyone had a new one?

 

[Zeno Marx]

I've seen some really sharp new Kaywoodies, but while I liked the gaudy stems (I'm from the Italian tradition, so what can I say?), the acrylic stems looked suspect. You know, when you see plastic in a picture, and it looks like CHEAP plastic. Could be totally wrong perception though. Can anyone comment on that? Briar Blues has some really pretty Kaywoodies, or at least he did.